By Joel A. Hess –
Remember those stereograms that were popular a couple decades ago? What better way to eat a bunch of time in the mall while you wait for your family to buy school clothes. At first glance, the picture looks like a bunch of gibberish—random dots and colors. But if you stare at a certain spot and relax your eyes, a three-dimensional image appears.
By Cindy Koch –
It’s pretty common. Shopping for clothes. Haircuts and maybe a pedicure come spring. We have a routine of upkeep to present ourselves to the world. Even on my most fuzzy days when the babies had kept me up all night and I had to run out to the grocery store, I barely remember brushing my hair and pulling on a pair of jeans, lest I run into anyone I knew. There is a level of care and self-worth we recognize in ourselves and others when an effort is made to be presentable. Even more so, when extra time is invested, a special outfit, carefully applied lipstick, we infer that this woman has something to offer the world. Her beauty speaks before her words ever do. No doubt, some have this natural gift more than others, but every woman senses there is a wisdom that accompanies beauty.
By Paul Koch –
The life of an individual Christian is a life that is lived in tension. I know, this isn’t new to you, but it is worth our focus today. The life of a Christian it is not a perfectly stable existence. It is organic. It shifts and moves. It flows from highs to lows as experiences and outside forces come crashing into our beliefs. There is a temptation to paint the faithful with a broad and even brush. We want to say that the Christian life is filled with confidence and stability, that those who go to church and receive the gifts of Christ will all experience similar things, have similar convictions and be set on similar paths throughout their journey. But that simply isn’t true. On any given Sunday morning there are a wide variety of emotions and fears and worries that grip the people of God. There is a tension between the promises you all share in the gifts of Christ and the varied life experiences you have. Sometimes, that tension can be pretty brutal.
By Joel A. Hess –
A young pastor was enjoying a children’s message with a bunch of elementary kids (if you can’t handle pastors talking to little kids in the Divine Service, please exit). He asked the kids, “What do you think Jesus said when He rose from the dead?” One girl responded, “Tada!” Everyone laughed. Yes, that may be the real reason why people demand children’s sermons.
By Cindy Koch –
I know I’m guilty. Keys in hand, given even to me, this is my responsibility. It’s a habit now to double check every last door handle as I walk by, pulling just a little bit to make sure no one can get in. It’s part of the culture of the church, diligently protecting the gifts that have been entrusted to us. It’s part of my frustration now when I find a door left ajar. Someone might misuse this sacred place I have grown to love so much.
By Joel A. Hess –
“For they were afraid!”
That’s the end of Mark’s gospel. After being told that Jesus had risen from the dead, they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone—for they were afraid!
The last words of Mark are “They were afraid!”
By Paul Koch –
Today is the celebration of the pinnacle event in all human history. Today we rejoice in the great working of God who interceded at a specific moment in time to overturn the power of darkness and sin and death. This is the dawn of a new day and the promise of something better. In the beginning of human history, mankind rejected the Word of God and set out on their own journey in opposition to their Creator. They ate the fruit of the forbidden tree so that they might become like God knowing good and evil, and know it they did. And so, is seems, do we all. And with that knowledge came punishment and brokenness and selfishness and pride and anger and a whole host desires that pervert and destroy relationships. But today we confess a gift that comes through a different tree, the tree of the cross. There your Lord died, and he died for all that deserves death and punishment in this world. He dies so that there might be life, so that there might be hope for you.
By Tim Winterstein –
It’s Holy Week, so what else would I be doing but watching two films about Jesus’ last few days? Two long movies. Two movies that inspired controversy and discussion and debate. Two movies that present two different Jesuses. And frankly, I don’t care if movies want to use different devices to try to understand the most divisive, explained, written-about person in history, Jesus of Nazareth. I have trouble understanding people who protest religious movies (or any movies for that matter). The only thing such protesting serves to do is draw attention and publicity to movies that might otherwise (and sometimes rightly) fade away into the oblivion of thrift-store DVDs. It is exactly for these sorts of protests that the phrase “all publicity is good publicity” was coined. Roger Ebert’s 4-star(!) review barely even touches the film itself, acknowledging “that this entire review has been preoccupied with replying to the attacks of the film’s critics, with discussing the issues, rather than with reviewing “The Last Temptation of Christ” as a motion picture.” (That, for Ebert, is a confirmation of the film’s greatness.)
By Paul Koch –
How is this night unlike all other nights? It is a significant night to be sure, but just what is it that makes it so important? Well, for starters, this night marks the initiation of the great events of our Lord’s passion. If you were to say that our Lord’s story is one that points ultimately to his death and resurrection on Easter morning, then this night is the moment when things begin to hone down and become focused. In fact, I think it would be fair to say that this night is what everything has been leading up to. Everything from our Lord’s birth in the little town of Bethlehem, to his Baptism in the Jordan River, to his transfiguration before his disciples, all of it has been driving towards this night.
By Joel A. Hess –
Welcome. On behalf of the family of the deceased, I would like to thank you for being here.
You have come to a funeral of sorts this Good Friday, haven’t you? Well, that’s what they say, I suppose.
By Cindy Koch –
The darkness is coming. I feel it lurking at the end of this long, sad week. Those of us who have been here before have been waiting for these tragic footsteps into the shadows. Even though we know what is coming, there is no escape from where we must travel. Retracing our murderous tracks, we hesitantly remember our own lies that killed an innocent man. Help us, dear Lord.
By Paul Koch –
Once again, we have made it to the beginning of the most fantastic and profound week in the church year. A week of unique movement and excitement, a week of great devotion as we move from somber reflection to joyful celebration. Today, our church started the worship service outside the sanctuary and processed into the house of our Lord signing, “All glory, laud and honor to you, redeemer, king, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.” Today, we recall the great triumphant entry of our Lord into the city of Jerusalem all those years ago. The reason we make a big deal about it is because he entered that city for a distinct reason. He didn’t come just to be celebrated and revered. He came to make a stand to face his opposition, to be betrayed and suffer and die on a cross. The same people who shouted “Hosanna” will ultimately be found shouting, “Crucify him, crucify him!”
By Cindy Koch –
There are all kinds of conversations that we have with all kinds of people. But every once in a while, the discussion gets serious, and we discover it’s one that really matters. Just today, I was surprised to find my relatively normal, everyday small talk heading down a road that I did not expect. Especially when I’m not quite ready for it, like today, a passionate confession bubbles up and truly takes me by surprise.
By Paul Koch –
As a preacher I have tried over the years to understand the situation in life of those to whom I preach. I try to imagine what things are like from your point of view. What is it that brings you into this church in the first place? What are you hoping to get out of it? When it gets to this point in the service, when it’s time for the sermon, are you excited? Do you expect big things? Or are you just hoping it won’t be too long? See, some folks come to church looking of a little bit of a spiritual high, a jolt of the good stuff to keep your going through another week. Then there are those that come to church because they are hurting or confused or feel lost in life and so they come seeking direction and healing and hope. Some, no doubt, aren’t all that sure why they are here. It is simply what they do, they’ve done it for years and so they show up as part of routine and habit.
By Joel A. Hess –
Keith was bent over with the pain. “Pastor! I’m scared.” They came in with cords and needles and tied him up as if they were tying up the illness. I held his hand and prayed. He squeezed tightly. All he saw was illness, pain, death, hopelessness.
By Jeff Pulse –
The Old Testament text for the fifth Sunday of Lent, March 18, 2018, is written in the Book of the prophet Jeremiah. The text is Jeremiah 31:31-34 and is a very familiar pericope that finds its way into the lectionary frequently. Of strong interest is the language of “New Covenant” verse the Old Covenant that made its way down Mt. Sinai in the wilderness. This is the only place in the Old Testament where the idea of “New Covenant” is written. The language of “yada” (to know) is connected to this New Covenant, as it was in the Old, (though I was a husband to her…) and indicates an intimate relationship in this New Covenant. However, the New Covenant has qualities that distinguish it from the Old and are connected to the promised Messiah. The language of “husband” and the new relationship reminds us of Hosea 1-3 and the living object lesson that the prophet Hosea is subjected to in order to give the prophecy a picture.
By Paul Koch –
C.S. Lewis famously wrote that he believed that all the doors of hell are locked from the inside. In other words, those that are there are there because they want to be, because they are defiant to the end and actually choose hell. Perhaps they don’t see it as hell. They see it as their own exertion of free choice, of doing what they want. Now, that may sound strange to our ears, but I think he was on to something. He had a clear understanding of the radical nature of our faith. You see, the gift of faith has given you something that the rest of the world does not have—a sort of superpower if you will. By faith, you can see what others cannot. And the first thing that you are given to see is sin. Because of faith, you are no longer blind to the bondage of sin, and you know that the doors of hell are locked on the inside. Those who are stuck there are only there because they cannot see this reality. They cannot see their own bondage. They have rejected God, and so they have loved an imprisonment of their own making.
By Jeff Pulse –
The Old Testament lesson for Lent IV, March 11, 2018, is from the fourth book of the Torah, Numbers. The text is Numbers 21:4-9 and is the interesting account concerning the grumbling and sinning of the Israelites and the LORD’s response of sending the “fiery serpents” into their midst. Moses’ making of a bronze serpent and raising it upon a pole is directly referred to in the New Testament passage from John 3:14: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so also the Son of Man must be lifted up.”
By Cindy Koch –
It’s not much, but I thought you should have it. My life should give glory only to you. And so I give my all to you. Every minute, every thought, your action will always be on my mind. Every morning I will give my time to you. In this crazy mixed up world, you should at least have the first few minutes of every day. My heart is yours, from the morning through the night. No other person or thing will stand in your way. God, you created everything, and I know this should all be yours, so I want to give it all to you.
By Paul Koch –
Tradition is an important part of our lives. Sometimes we scrape against our traditions, especially if they are in our way, or somehow slow our progress. Of course, there are traditions that we don’t really understand, and so we would rather not worry about them. Yet traditions are important. They carry with them an ancient understanding of things, a working of the world and our place in it. Our traditions are how we can evaluate new things, how we can understand worth, and even how we chart the future. No matter how cutting edge and modern you might be, we all have traditions that we value. All of us have traditions that we think should be upheld. In fact, we all know that when long held traditions are done away with, there will be consequences. Therefore, older generations will shake their heads at younger ones when they change a tradition because they know it will lead to something unpredictable.
